I am not now and never have been a leftist. I fight for democracy and the American way. I have always been a moderate. Voted for Reagan. Daddy Bush. But I am for truth, justice, rule of law, and a strong economy, which has been cut down by corporations bribing congress over the last 50 years to hold down wages, and while wages have crept up in that time about 15 percent or so, the income to the top corporate people has risen over 300 percent. This is exactly what has destroyed our economy and greatness. Nothing creates a great economy but large numbers of people spending money on goods and services. This creates jobs, and jobs build the economy. Reduce or hold down wages in the total scheme of the economy when more of the total wealth in America has moved to the already wealthy, and you reduce the economy. Simple fact. THAT is what has destroyed our greatness. Nothing else.

Have you noticed gas prices are rising? Get ready: you ain’t seen nothing yet. Ever wonder why gas prices rose so much ahead of the 2022 elections? Wonder why Donald Trump’s son-in-law earned $2 billion from Saudi Arabia? Wonder why gasoline prices are beginning to rise now? Well, here is the real reason. The leader of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia loves his dictatorial soul-mate Donald Trump and is today setting the stage to intervene in November’s election in a big way, much like he did with a smaller test run during the fall of 2022 when he drove US gas prices up above $5, forcing President Biden to release oil from the US strategic petroleum reserve.
The Saudi Prince has routinely given millions to Donald Tump over the years.

As Stanley Reed reported for the Business pages of The New York Times three days ago:
“Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said Sunday that it would extend [their one-million-barrels-a-day] cuts in oil production through June, noting that it was acting ‘in coordination with some’ other states.” That “other state” would be their OPEC+ partner Russia, which also announced last weekend a simultaneous production cut of 471,000 barrels a day. Putin wants Trump back in the White House, too.

This time, though, because Trump refused to block the sale of America’s largest gasoline refinery to Saudi Arabia in 2017 (completed in 2019 with Trump’s blessing), no matter how much oil Biden releases from the reserves will be irrelevant: if the Saudis shut down their Port Arthur, Texas refinery this October “for maintenance,” US gasoline prices will explode. It’s the largest refinery in America, as Foreign Policy magazine noted in May 2017: “Port Arthur, referred to as the ‘crown jewel’ of U.S. refinery infrastructure, can process 600,000 barrels of oil a day.” That alone is enough to radically swing gasoline prices in the US.

So, get ready: it’s coming this fall. And unless the administration acts quickly, there will be nothing they can do about it. Gas at $6 a gallon could easily throw the election to Trump, as Biden will take the blame (just like in November 2022) and Fox “News” and rightwing hate media will hang gas prices around his neck like a flaming tire. Just for political purposes – screw the public. Just like they have done for over 55 years. They care about nothing but their own wealth and will continue destroying America’s economic position in the world. By simply continuing what they have been doing to hold down wages in America.

Saudi Prince MBS and his sovereign wealth fund have funneled literally billions of dollars into the Trump family, between Jared’s investment company and Trump’s golf courses, Trump’s hotels, and the LIV Tour, in addition to giving Trump himself additional hundreds of millions over the years renting and purchasing Trump properties in clear violation of the Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution.

Trump followed that up by organizing a 2019 sale of $8.1 billion in US weaponry in clear violation of US law (such sales require congressional approval). When the Senate voted to block the sale, Trump killed their effort. As Frontline noted in a July 2019 report: “Both chambers have registered their disapproval of the emergency declaration — the Senate voted to block the sale in June. President Trump, however, has pledged to shoot down the measure when it arrives at his desk.”

When Saudi Arabia and Russia tried to screw Biden and the Democrats by cutting oil production — in October leading up to the midterm 2022 elections — President Biden was furious. Russell Baker wrote about it for The New York Times on October 11, 2022: “President Biden vowed on Tuesday to impose ‘consequences’ on Saudi Arabia for teaming up with Russia to cut oil production, signaling a rupture in the relationship between two longtime allies and a reversal of his own effort to cultivate the energy-rich kingdom. “Amid deep anger over last week’s decision by the Saudi-led OPEC Plus, Mr. Biden’s staff announced that he would re-evaluate the entire relationship with Saudi Arabia and expressed openness to retaliatory measures offered by congressional Democrats such as curbing arms sales or permitting legal action against the cartel.

And Fox “News” and rightwing hate media will hang gas prices around Biden’s neck like a flaming tire, despite the actual cause being Donald Trump.

The Saudis are well aware of the power of gas prices over US politics. Retired Saudi Oil Ministry Adviser Ibrahim Al-Muhanna wrote in his book Oil Leaders: An Insider’s Account of Four Decades of Saudi Arabia and OPEC's Global Energy Policy: “During the midterm election in 2018, President Trump pushed for lower oil prices—meaning gasoline—and he succeeded, but he used completely different methods. In the middle of June 2018, the oil price was about $75 and the gasoline price in the United States was more than $3.50 in some states. Trump was worried that the Republican Party might lose the majority in both houses of Congress. …“The OPEC+ group, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided in June 2018 to increase their production by 1.2 MBD. Saudi Arabian production in November rose to more than 11.3 MBD, its highest ever.” For reference, Saudi oil production right now is standing at around 9 million barrels a day, and they just announced a million-barrel-a-day production cut to kick in this summer/fall just in time for the presidential election.

That would be your opinion. I have proven to be totally trustworthy for over 50 working years including engineering services for every branch of our military including DOD secret clearance projects and DOE L clearance. Never an issue. And nearly all my opinions regarding the economy are based on my observations and experiences. I lived through it all and saw what happened. I know what built the greatest economy in the world, and it was high wages demanded by unions. When the wealthy own too much of the total wealth in the nation, the economy is strangled. Logical, since the more money in circulation, the more is spent, creating more jobs. Simple really. The more the wealthy take from labor, the less available for buying goods goods and services. And I cannot understand how any thinking thing can fail to understand something that simple.